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Explanation
Explanation to components found in the green building Building orientation Building is oriented away from the East-West sun, combined with sun-shading features on the West face of the building as an additional shield against solar heat gain and glare. Building envelope The primary function of the insulation layer is to provide a barrier to the flow of heat between the interior of the building and the external environment. Heat naturally flows from a warmer to a cooler space; insulation provides resistance to heat flow, thereby reducing the amount of energy needed to keep a building cool. Insulation is frequently discussed in terms of its ability to resist heat flow. A variety of insulation options exist, including blanket, concrete block, insulating concrete forms, spray foam, rigid foam, and natural fibre insulation. Adding insulation strategically will improve the efficiency of the building; however, it is only effective if the building is properly sealed. Sealing cracks and leaks prevents air flow and is crucial for effective building envelope insulation. Leaks can generally be sealed with caulk, spray foam, or weather stripping. The most common form of insulation in built-up cladding systems is mineral wool quilt, which is favoured due to its light weight, low thermal conductivity, and ease of handling and relatively low cost. Rigid mineral wool slabs are available, but are less deformable than mineral wool quilts, giving rise to the potential for air gaps between the insulation and the profiled metal sheets. Rigid mineral wool slabs are also much heavier than mineral wool quilts, with consequences for the loading on the supporting steelwork and manual handling on site. ' ' Solar Panels Solar panels are lined neatly on the top of the building to absorb the heat energy given out by the sun which can be used to generate electricity for the building The solar panels are lined diagonally so that no manpower is needed to clean the roof after a heavy downpour as the rainwater would flow down the solar panels and help to clean the solar panels This will definitely reduce the energy wasted as we are relying on solar energy to power our building and solar energy is renewable, making it eco-friendly. Butterfly valves in every room They Control the amount of light so as to conserve energy. On a sunny or bright day, we can open the butterfly valves to allow the sunlight to enter, thus the lights need not be switched on to so that energy can be conserved Low-emissive double-glazed panel facade The low-emissive panel is highly reflective, making the window able to radiate much more heat in the form of long wavelength infrared energy away from the building. Low-e glass has a microscopically thin, transparent coating – it is much thinner than a human hair – that reflects long-wave infrared energy (or heat). Some low-e glass also reflect significant amounts of short-wave solar infrared energy. Low-e glass is comprised of extremely thin layers of silver or other low emissivity materials and so the silver low-e coating reflects the interior temperatures back inside, keeping the room warm or cold. The double-glazed panel act as a good insulator of heat as the trapped air in the double-glazed window is a good insulator of heat. The trapped air has a higher temperature compared to the inside of the building, reducing the temperature difference between the air surrounding the building and the trapped air. This would make heat transfer between the surrounding air and trapped air slower, causing the surrounding air and trapped air to take a longer time to reach thermal equilibrium as conduction is the slowest form of heat transfer among radiation, convection and conduction. The heat from the trapped air still need to be transferred to the air inside the building before the temperature inside the building is heated up, thus allowing the air inside the building to be kept cool for a much longer period of time. These would efficiently help the building to insulate against heat gain. Low-e glass is not very expensive and is worth buying because of its high efficiency. Large overhangs on the external facade Large overhangs on the external facade of the window panel would help to shade the building from the sunlight, reducing the amount of heat entering the building and thus helping to keep the building cooler. Mirror ducts at the side of the building and light pipes at the top of the building Mirror ducts trap sunlight to be reflected down the tube through the butterfly valves so that artificial lighting is not required to light up the room. Instead, the trapped light can be used to light up the rooms on days with a lot of sunlight. This help to save not only money but energy as well. Light pipes at the top of the building so that light is trapped and less artificial light is needed to power up the top level of the building, reducing the electricity usage and money wasted Roof chimneys They allows the hot air that rises to escape out of the building. Thus, keeping the building cool. Grow many green plants around the building Green plants take in carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and gives out oxygen which we need for respiration. The surrounding temperature will be lowered and thus keeping the building cool. The air would be cleaner and fresher as well. The plants also help beautify the building. These plants no need to be of those rare breed but common plants like money plants which can be bought easily and at a cheap price. ' ' Air-con ventilation from the ground Cool, clean air is supplied at low velocity to the room via diffusers on the raised floor. This air would not mix with the air in the room until it comes into contact with heat loads in the room. Heat from the occupants and equipment warm the air, and raise to the ceiling level. Warm air is removed at the ceiling level via extract grilles The air-con ventilation is from the ground, this helps to save energy as cool air is not needed at the ceiling, thus by having ventilation pumps which give out cool air from the floor will be sufficient to cool the surrounding temperature of the room at the bottom. Hot air and cool air does not mix as hot air rises and cool air sinks due to differences in density, making the room cooler. This will definitely bring comfort to the students studying as they are able to concentrate better in a cool environment. Natural ventilation At parts of the building, air-conditioning would not be needed. Using natural ventilation reduces the need for aircon, thus reducing the energy usage of the building and also help use some money Turbine Water pipe which directs water underground where there is a turbine to generate electricity which can be used to power the building. Whenever it rains, water flows onto the ground and evaporates. The water that comes down can be collected and use to generate electricity so that fossil fuels need not be burnt and harmful gases would not be released. Sound proof room for turbine and room is locked for student, teacher and worker’s safety. Every table has its personal ventilation pumps The personal ventilation pumps provide refreshing and cooling air so that one may study under a comfortable condition. Computer lab After use, students must switch off the main switch and make sure the computer is properly switched off so that energy is not wasted. Simple practises of conserving energy will not only help inculcate good practices within the students but also help save energy and money. Peranakan spices garden Students would be required to spend some time watering the plants. This helps to home gardening skills as well as provide herbs and spices which can be used for FCE lessons Top of the roof without the solar panels are painted with highly reflective paint By doing so, heat is reflected so that the building is not hot. Metal is a good conductor of heat. Heat would be absorbed quickly and the temperature of the building would increase quickly. However, since the paint is highly reflective, the heat would be reflected away and the building would be able to remain cool. ' ' Flooring Cement is a poor conductor of heat, thus, it gains heat more slowly making the floor cooler, in turn making the environment cooler. Compared to other materials, cement is cheap and durable, maintaining cement would be much easier compared to wooden flooring. Building management system A building management system would help the school to track the amount of electricity produced and used by the building, the amount of carbon dioxide and oxygen emissions of the building etcetera, allowing the school to make improvements the green building to enhance its efficiency and so that the school would not use use too much energy without knowing. Other energy efficient features Energy efficient features include daylight sensors that are used together with automatic blinds at the building facades, public toilets installed with motion sensors and energy efficient lightings that are switched on only when required.